This invention relates generally to necks for stringed musical instruments, and more specifically to a graphite fiber reinforced plastic molded construction for the neck of such instruments. This neck when combined with a conventional instrument body, because of its high stiffness and dimensional stability and because of the acoustic properties of the graphite composite laminate, results in an instrument with improved and stable tonal qualities.
The necks of such instruments are generally made of wood which are prone to warp, bend, or change dimensionally due to affects on the wood of changes in ambient temperature and moisture or humidity conditions of exposure. Since any dimensional changes such as warping, bending, shrinkage, or growth will adversely affect the musical sound qualities of the instrument by changing the tension of the strings or changing the distance between the strings and the frets, modifications have been made to try to overcome these deficiencies. Early prior art included adding one or more steel truss rods down the length of the neck to stiffen it. More recent prior art includes laminated neck constructions incorporating metal, plastic, or various wood layers by integrally laminating or combining them with conventional woods used in neck construction. Additional prior art incorporates an elaborate stiffening truss structure. Recent prior art includes instruments having necks constructed of aluminum. The aluminum necks do not bend or warp and are not affected dimensionally by humidity, but are not dimensionally stable since they are affected by changes in temperature due to the high thermal coefficient of expansion of aluminum. Aluminum is also prone to corrode under ambient humidity conditions and form an oxide surface layer which can blacken a player's hand. The aluminum can be protected with a coating, but a coating will degrade with time and can wear through. Instruments with aluminum necks are heavy and the neck has an unappealing feature of being cold to the touch.
All prior art necks of plastic, wood, or metal (including aluminum), or combinations thereof, result in instruments with excessive damping of the harmonic response characteristics from the strings. This adverse response and damping tends to limit the tonal qualities of the instrument. The graphite composite neck minimizes sound absorption and damping, and results in an instrument with sound qualities significantly superior to all prior art instruments.
The graphite composite neck overcomes many of the shortcomings of the prior art by producing an instrument which is: dimensionally stable under moisture and humidity conditions, dimensionally stable under varying temperature conditions, lightweight, and which has improved sound qualities because of the minimal sound damping characteristics of the neck. The hollow neck construction also allows for incorporating electrical wiring and other electrical or electronic devices within the neck structure.